Tuesday, July 8, 2008

After Leona’s death in 2007 her will made news when it made public the bequest of $12 million to her Maltese dog named Trouble. Some Judge, against Leona’s wishes, decided Trouble did not need $12 million. Judge Reena Roth awarded $2 million to Trouble, $4 million to an undisclosed charity and $6 million to grandchildren that had be cut out of the will.

Now one has to ask the question...What’s going to happen to the remaining $8 billion of her estate?Yes, Leona directed that $8 billion be given to benefit the welfare of dogs.It has been reported that in “ 2003 that the money should go to poor people and dogs. A year later, the sources said, she dropped poor people from the list. “I wonder if some Judge is going to mess with her directive.

This money will hopefully be put to good use by good people to help dogs.I wonder if the funds are directed for use in the USA only or whether international Organizations will also benefit.

Ah, what to do with just one hours worth of interest on $8 billion.Do you realize that at 4% interest per annum the first hour would generate $36,529.68?

That is a lot of Dog Wash Fundraisers.To the left is the Canada Day Dog Wash in Picton, Ontario.

Police sniffer dogs may have to cover their feet when entering Muslim homes in order not to cause offense.

Efforts by security agencies to respect Muslim sensibilities in crime probes has come down to this - canine footwear. Guidelines being drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) urge awareness of religious sensitivities when using dogs to search for drugs and explosives, reports The Sunday Times.

The guidelines, to be published this year, originally designed to cover mosques will now apply to other buildings, including homes.

Where Muslims object, officers will be obliged to use sniffer dogs only in exceptional cases. Where dogs are used, they will have to wear bootees with rubber soles.

The new rule has its roots in a crime prevention poster of the Tayside Police of Dundee in Scotland featuring a german shepherd puppy. A Muslim councillor objected to the poster, saying some of his brethren may find it objectionable on the ground that dogs are unclean.

However, Muslims say it is stretching things too far. One of Britain's leading Imams, Ibrahim Mogra, says: "In Islamic law the dog is not regarded as impure, only its saliva is. Most Islamic schools of law agree on that. If security measures require to send a dog into a house, then it has to be done. I think Acpo needs to consult better and more widely."

John Midgley, co-founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, says: "The police are in effect being overly sensitive to potential criminals and not being sensitive enough to the public at large who need to be protected. These sort of things have a counter-productive effect because they cause huge friction between different communities."

Dog lovers are not far behind lampooning the police. Caroline Kisko, of the Kennel Club, says: "We would not condone any attempt to make search dogs wear special clothing, which could cause them distress."

Police dogs at present are issued with footwear only at scenes of explosions to prevent them injuring their paws on broken glass.

In an effort to provide a little education I offer the following from the websiteIslamic Concern.com.

Read: haraam = forbidden.1. It is NOT haraam to own a dog, though it is not hygienic to keep a dog in the house.

2. It is NOT haraam to touch a dog or any other animal. If the saliva of a dog touches you or any part of your clothing, then it is required of you to wash the body part touched and the item of clothing touched by the dog’s mouth or snout.

3. It is incumbent upon all Muslims who own animals, whether for farming or work purposes or as pets, to provide adequate shelter, food, water, and, when needed, veterinary care for their animals. Arrangements must be made, if one is going to be away from home, to have one’s animals taken care of as well.

4. It is haraam to keep a dog or any other animal on a short lead for long periods without food, water, and shelter. Dogs need exercise and are social creatures who form organized “family” structures in nature. Dog owners therefore need to spend time daily with their dogs.

5. It is cruel, and therefore haraam, to keep any animal in a cage so small that it cannot behave in a natural way.

6. Fireworks cause untold suffering to most domestic animals because of their acute sense of hearing.

7. It is haraam to participate in any blood “sport,” like dog fighting and trophy hunting.

I find number six hits home for me. Our mutt Skeeter was freaked out over the recent weekend by fireworks. Even though they were at a great distance both July 1st and 4th were a stress for her.